Queen of Crash
by Refuse to Conform
Summary: Benny falls for the baseball-loving neighbor girl. But when she becomes a distraction, what will the Sandlot crew do to intervene?
1. Chapter 1

Benny's POV

_Crack!_

"Benny, how many times do I have to tell you? No baseball in the backyard! You're gonna break the fence!" My mom stood on the back porch with her hands on her hips, looking murderous.

"Sorry, Mom!" I yelled back.

She shook her head, muttered something, and went inside. I checked to make sure she wasn't looking, and took another swing at the ball. This time, it didn't hit the fence. It sailed right over it into the yard of the house behind ours.

I walked around to their house to get my ball back. The boys would be furious if I lost our only ball. The house had been for sale for a while, but a family had moved in a couple weeks ago. I rang the doorbell. The door swung open, and my heart fell to my stomach.

"Can I help you?" The girl looked at me curiously. She had brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and piercing green eyes. It took me a second to regain my speaking abilities.

"Uh, um, yeah. I hit my ball into your backyard."

"Well, what'd you do that for?" She asked me. Then she smiled. "I'm only teasing. Come on in."

The house was full of unpacked boxes, although someone had taken the time to put out their collection of baseball memorabilia on the fireplace mantel. I gravitated towards it.

"My name's Ruth, by the way. Ruth Keller. What's yours?"

"Benny…" I managed to mumble, studying the stats on one of the cards.

She noticed I was concentrated on the baseball stuff. "That stuff's my dad's. It's his pride and joy. He used to announce for the Mets, so he collected a lot of stuff. He loves baseball. He even named me after a player." She shook her head. She muttered something about first child sacrifices.

"You mean you're named after Babe Ruth? The Great Bambino? The Colossus of Clout? The-"

"The King of Crash, yeah. That's the dude."

"Cool," was all I managed to say.

"Let's go get that ball," she suggested.

I got the ball and was walking out the front door. I turned around to her. "Do _you _like baseball, like your dad?"

"I like watching, yeah. But I've never played."

"I could teach you," I said quickly. "I mean, if you want."

She smiled. "That'd be fun. I'd like that."

"I'll come by tomorrow then."

She nodded. "It was very nice to meet you, Benny," she said. Her eyes glistened.

"Yeah," my voice cracked. "You too, Ruth. See you tomorrow."

I ran home before my face could get any redder.


	2. Chapter 2

"Just keep your eye on the ball, and swing." I pitched her a slow ball, and she smacked it, sending it rolling between first and second, a good ground ball. "Nice!"

We'd only been out here a few days, but she was already improving. We played at the school's diamond. I didn't dare bring her to the Sandlot. The boys would freak.

"Okay, now let's work on catching. I'll pop one up, and you catch it. Keep your eye on the ball."

"Got it," she said and gave me a thumbs up. I smiled and swung. It didn't go very far, but it went high. She caught it with no problem.

"You're a natural," I told her.

"Maybe it's my name," she joked, smiling. I liked when she smiled. She glowed, and it made me feel happy. "Come on," she said, snapping me out of it. "Hit me another and I'll get you out at first."

Ruth's POV

We were practicing every day for two weeks. Sometimes I had to pretend to mess up, just so he could still give me lessons. He was so cute and sweet, and he had a really nice butt.

One day after practice, we sat on my front step, drinking Kool-Aid. He was acting kind of nervous. His leg kept bouncing and he barely drank the Kool-Aid (and it was grape, his favorite). I was about to ask him what was wrong, but I didn't have to.

"Do you want to see something?" He blurted.

"Um, sure," I responded cautiously. He stood and helped me up. We walked through the neighborhood until we reached a part I had never been to before.

It was a baseball diamond. It wasn't well kept, but you would tell where the bases were. There was even a little hut for the players to sit in.

"Sorry I didn't bring you here before to practice. It's just… this is where me and my friends play and I didn't know how they'd react if they found out I brought a girl here." He was cracking his knuckles nervously.

"It's okay." I patted his arm. "You brought me here now, right?" He smiled and relaxed a bit. "Whoa, look at this cool swing!"

It was a two-seated bench with a canopy on top that swung back and forth. It looked a bit worse for wear, but I sat on it and motioned for him to sit next to me. He did.

"So how often do you guys play here?" I asked him.

He looked out to the horizon. The sun was almost down behind the tree line now, shedding a few rays of orange light. "Every day, rain or shine," he finally said. "Here," he said, pulling his hat out of his pocket. "I want you to have this."

"Benny, I can't take this," I said, shocked he offered it to me. I'd never seen him without it on, until now.

"You're getting good, and you'll need a hat to play." He placed it in my lap.

We locked eyes. I couldn't see his face very well in the low light. He leaned in towards me. I leaned in, too. Then, I heard a whisper behind the fence. I pulled back. Benny turned his head towards the noise, looking steamed.

I got up. "Thanks for bringing me here, Benny," I said. "And thanks for the hat." I turned to go. "Oh, and tell your friends hello from me." I turned and ran, trying not to get lost on the way home.


	3. Chapter 3

Benny's POV

I rounded the corner, balling up my fists. I was mad.

"Freeze!" I yelled. The pack of kids, who were running for their lives, stopped dead.

"Listen, Benny, we were only trying to help-"

"Save it, Squints. How'd you know we would be here?"

"Smalls saw you guys heading for the Sandlot," Bertram admitted.

"You were getting so distracted, Benny. You weren't playing good. She was destroying your career, Benny, man." Squints shook his head at me. "We couldn't let her do it."

"Well you should be happy, because she's gone now, and she'll probably never talk to me again." I walked away.

"Wait, Benny, we're sorry man!" Kenny yelled.

"Yeah yeah, truly sorry."

"Benny, I didn't know you'd be upset. I shouldn't have told them. I'm sorry." Smalls' was the only apology that seemed sincere, but I just kept walking.

They ran after me. "Scram!" I yelled at them. They had shocked looks on their faces, but they didn't follow me.

I stilled showed up at the Sandlot at 8 AM, same as every morning. But today, I didn't talk to anyone. And they didn't talk to me. The field was silent besides the crack of the bat and the smack of the glove. Everyone looked pretty guilty, especially Smalls. We called it quits early that day because it was pretty awkward. I stayed behind to practice batting.

I sent the ball sailing to left field. It didn't hit the ground, though. Someone caught it: Ruth. I jogged out to talk to her, if she even would.

"That was a nice hit," she said with a smile. Relief washed over me.

"Look, I'm really sorry about my friends. They just don't understand-"

"It's okay, Benny. Just a little, um, embarrassing." Her cheeks were tinged with pink.

"They just think you're, uh, distracting me." She looked down. "You're not, of course. They're just blockheads. Actually, you can play just as well as them, maybe even better." Then, it hit me. "Hey, why don't you play with us?"

"Benny, I don't think that's such a good idea…"

"All you need to do is show them you have game. They warmed up to Smalls pretty easily. Plus, you'll get some actual game action. It's much more fun than practicing by yourself. What do you say?"

She looked me in the eyes. I tried to give her my best pleading face. She finally crumbled. "Oh, alright," she said. "What time?"

cl

M o ( ? yle='text-indent:.5in'"You're getting good, and you'll need a hat to play." He placed it in my lap.

We locked eyes. I couldn't see his face very well in the low light. He leaned in towards me. I leaned in, too. Then, I heard a whisper behind the fence. I pulled back. Benny turned his head towards the noise, looking steamed.

I got up. "Thanks for bringing me here, Benny," I said. "And thanks for the hat." I turned to go. "Oh, and tell your friends hello from me." I turned and ran, trying not to get lost on the way home.


	4. Chapter 4

Ruth's POV

I barely slept that night. I was so nervous to play actual baseball. What if I made a fool of myself? What if they didn't accept me? What if I could never see Benny again?

Eight o'clock finally rolled around. I found Benny waiting for me on my front step. He smiled, and my anxiety melted away. "Ready?"

When we got there, the rest of the team was already warming up. They saw us coming and all their attention was on me. I wanted to peel out of there, but I stood my ground.

Benny put his arm on my shoulder. "This is Ruth, named after Babe Ruth. She's, uh, gonna play some ball with us, so. This is Squints, Yeah-Yeah, Kenny, Bertram, Timmy, Tommy, Ham, and Smalls."

I gave a small wave, and then resisted the urge to smack myself in the face.

"Benny, why do you keep bringing new players?"

"Yeah yeah, first Smalls, now her."

"Let's just play, okay?" Benny was up to bat. "Timmy, get two."

The boys quickly tossed the ball from base to base. I was overwhelmed. I started to back away slowly, but then Benny called my name.

"This one's coming to you, Ruth!" He sent the ball flying straight at me.

I had to catch this. I was so nervous I almost forgot to put my glove up. I did at the last second and the ball plopped down in my glove. I exhaled a sigh of relief. I chucked it back to Kenny on the mound. Everyone was staring at me. Benny was smiling.

"Holy crap," said Ham, "let's play some ball!"


	5. Chapter 5

Benny's POV

I knocked on Ruth's front door. Her dad answered. I swallowed.

"Hello, Benny. Happy fourth of July," he said, eyeing me up and down.

I shifted. "Hi Mr. Keller. May I please speak to Ruth?"

"Of course." He called for her inside, and looked back at me. "Going to play some ball, are you?"

"Yes, sir. We always play a night game on the fourth, because the fireworks make it light enough to see."

"I remember when I was your age. I played baseball every waking hour. I wish I could still play as well as I used to." He stared off, as if remembering the golden days.

"Oh, hi, Benny." Ruth stood in the doorway next to her father.

"I'll leave you two," he said. Before he left, he gave a look that I took as a warning: _watch after my daughter or else. _I quickly nodded, and he disappeared inside.

"Uh, time for our night game," I said.

"Ooo, a night game, like the pros play!" She ran in front of me. "Race ya!"

Ruth's POV

Benny walked me back after the game because it was dark and I think my dad had scared him a bit. The sky was lit up from the last of the fireworks displays.

Two girls walked by us, giggling and waving at Benny. He grabbed my hand, and the girls got the message. I stared down at our intertwined fingers.

"Sorry," Benny said softly, letting my hand go.

"No, that's okay. I don't mind." I grabbed his hand again. He smiled and puffed out his chest a bit.

"Does that happen a lot?" I asked him, curious.

"What?"

"Do girls wave at you a lot?"

He looked puzzled. "I don't know. I don't really pay attention." He looked at me sideways with a smirk. "Why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering," I tried to say as nonchalantly as possible.

We reached the corner of my street. He stopped and turned to face me. By that time I pretty much knew what was happening. I looked into his eyes. He looked petrified from nerves. I squeezed his hand, letting him know that it was okay. Fireworks were shooting up in the sky around us. I counted one…two…three explosions. Finally, he kissed me.


	6. Chapter 6

_Parts that are direct lines from the movie are in []._

"Tommy, throw it to second!" But Tommy didn't throw it to second. And Benny didn't hit it to Tommy. Everyone stared at the bunch of guys on bicycles headed our way. The whole team threw down their equipment and marched over to confront them. I followed their lead. Benny grabbed a bat.

"It's pretty easy to play with a bunch of blockheads like this, Rodriguez," said the leader of pack. He saw me and laughed. "Now you're even playing with a girl! Ah, this is too rich."

["Shut your mouth, Phillips!"] Benny smacked is bat.

"What'd you call us, crapface?" Ham asked.

The insults continued to fly from one side to the other. Each of Ham's insults was responded by a general "yeah!" from the rest of us. Finally, Ham delivered the knockout punch.

["You play ball like a girl!"]

Silence.

"Wait-" I tried to object.

["Noon, tomorrow, our place," Phillips said, his voice cracking. "Beat it butt breath."]

["Count on it, pee-drinking crapface!"] Ham retorted. Phillip's boys left a trail of dust behind them.

So at noon the next day, we showed up at their "place", a diamond complete with bleachers and a score board. It was my first actual game of baseball. I definitely could not let the team down.

Our team was doing well. It was hit after hit. I was on deck, trying not to crap in my pants.

Benny came up to me. "Hit it into left field. Number 2 is having a rough time out there," he whispered. "You'll score at least two, maybe even three."

"I can't hit it anywhere I want like you, Benny," I reminded him.

"Sure you can. Just think about where you want it to go, and hit it there. Easy." He looked at me. "I know you can do it. Your name's not Ruth for nothing." He patted me on the back and I stumbled to the plate.

"Haha, look who's up to bat!" Phillips sneered. "This should be good."

Fury flowed through my veins. I took the first pitch and sent it flying to left field. Number 2 tried to catch it but missed by a mile. It was a clean double for me, but it scored the three base runners. Benny gave me a knowing look and a thumbs up. Everyone else stood with their mouths hanging open.

Benny was up next. He positioned himself over the base like a Greek statue, lean and muscular. I was staring so hard I almost forgot to run when he sent it sailing over the fence.

Benny's POV

After our victory, we decided to celebrate like champions and go to the fair.

"Hey guys, I've got something," Bertram said. He pulled out a box of chaw. "I was saving it for something special. Take a piece." He offered it to everyone.

"Aw, cool man!"

"Now we're like the big leaguers!"

Ruth declined. "Sorry, even the smell of the stuff makes me sick." That should have been our first warning.

"Hey, let's go ride that tilt-a-whirl!" Smalls suggested.

"Yeah yeah, looks pretty great!"

"Uh, I'm gonna go get a corndog. Anyone else want anything?" Ruth asked. Ham started rambling off his order: popcorn, two hotdogs, a Coke… Ruth nodded, trying to remember the order. When Ham was done, we all got on. Everyone waved to Ruth. She waved back, smiling and shaking her head. Then, the ride started and everything was a blur.

"Oh, man, I don't feel too good," Bertram moaned as the ride was slowing down.

"Yeah yeah, I'm feeling pretty crappy."

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Ham blew chunks all down the front of his shirt. That started a chain reaction. Soon, all of us were covered in barf that looked suspiciously like tobacco juice.

We stumbled off the ride. Ruth was waiting there, Ham's huge order in her arms. "What happened to you guys?" She asked, trying not to breathe through her nose.

"Guess we're not cut out for the hard stuff yet," Kenny responded.

We all stared at Ham as he stuffed a hot dog into his mouth.

"Wha?"


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry these are kind of short and lame chapters. This isn't my best writing. I might redo this whole story later. The rest of this is pretty much going to go like in the movie, just with Ruth in it. Enjoy and please review!_

The boys and I agreed it was time for another camp out. The Beast's snoring shook the tree house. Smalls looked down at the Beast's lair and shuddered, probably thinking of his first camp out.

"Let's get down to business," Squints said with authority. I looked at him curiously, and everyone else stared straight at me.

"What?"

"What's happening with you and Ruth?" he asked.

"Yeah yeah, did you even kiss her yet?"

"I did, actually," I responded, throwing my pillow at Yeah Yeah. Everyone's mouths hung open.

"When? We've always been with you," Ham said.

"On the fourth, after our game. Geez, I wouldn't have come if I knew I was gonna be interrogated." I plopped down on my sleeping bag.

"She really likes you, Benny," Smalls said. The rest of them nodded. I sat up on my elbows.

"Yeah yeah, she's always staring at you like you was some kind of Hollywood actor. Oh Benny! Hit the ball to me, Benny!" They laughed and I smiled. This time I smacked him with his own pillow.

That night, after everyone had settled down and gone to sleep, I thought long and hard about what they had said. Did she really like me? I really liked her. I liked her smile, how her eyes glistened, how her ponytail swung when she ran, her laugh, when she holds my hand… Soon I was sound asleep. I didn't know it yet, but tomorrow was going to be a day I would remember for the rest of my life.

"Here comes my heater," Kenny yelled from home. He wound up and chucked the ball right towards me. The world seemed to slow down. I smacked it with all of my might.

Squints caught the inside of the ball. Everyone else was circled around the skin, which lay busted open on the grass.

"Only a few people in history have ever busted open a ball, Benny. This must be an omen." Squints rubbed his glasses on his shirt and stuck them back on his face, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"It just means we can't play no more. Sorry guys." We turned to go home.

"Wait!" Smalls said. "I've got a ball."

"Well go get it!" Ham yelled. Smalls was bombarded with gloves and hats as he raced home to get the ball.

["I got it! I got it!"] He came in running.

["Great. Your ball, your ups, man," I told him.]

Kenny pitched him another heater, and he sent it sailing over the fence.

"Nice, man!" I yelled after him as he circled the bases. Except he didn't finish circling the bases. He walked towards the outfield after reaching second base, eyes glued to the fence.

["You forgot to turn!" Ham called to him. "What the hell is he doing?"]

We all gathered behind him.

"We need to get that ball back," he said, still staring at the fence.

"Man don't worry about it, we'll get a new one." I patted him on the back.

"No, we need to get _that _one back. It wasn't mine! I took it out of my step dad's trophy room! He's gonna murder me!"

"Smalls, this is very important: who signed that ball?"

"I think it was the same person Ruth was named after. That Babie Ruth girl."

"BABE RUTH?!"


	8. Chapter 8

Ruth's POV

We tried everything to get that ball back. Catapults, vacuums, robots, even an aerial attack. The Beast (Squints told me the story) just would not let us have that ball. That's when Benny had his dream.

We sat on my front porch the next morning, and he explained how he had a dream about Babe Ruth.

"So Babe Ruth came to you in a dream and told you to jump over the fence and grab the ball?" I asked. My dreams were never so specific.

"Yeah, and I need the opinion of two Ruths before I do it," he said with a smile. I slugged him in the arm. "So?"

I thought for a while, not about if Benny should pickle the Beast, because that was a no brainer. He was the fastest and most talented kid around, and frankly, I did not believe Squints' story about a man-eating dog. I thought about the fact that Babe Ruth, he all time hero, had told him to do this, and he was still asking me. I looked at him.

"Of course you should do it," I told him. "You won't make it very far without taking some risks."

"Thanks, Ruth." He got up and offered me his hand. "Time to pickle that beast."

"Benny, you don't have to go over there," Smalls pleaded. "It's okay."

"I have to do this, Smalls. As someone once said, "You won't make it very far without taking some risks." He glanced at me. I smirked.

"We're praying for you," Timmy said.

"We're praying for you," Tommy echoed.

"Yeah yeah, don't get yourself killed!"

Benny smiled and shook his head. He hopped over the fence, and vanished.


	9. Chapter 9

It felt like he was over there for hours when it was probably only a minute or two. Suddenly, he sprang up from behind the fence, ball in hand, landing with a thud in the dirt. We hauled him up and turned just in time to see a massive dog fly over the fence. And with that, Benny was gone, leaving a trail of dust behind him.

The Beast chased him up and down the streets of the neighborhood. We followed behind, breathing heavily.

"Sandlot, Sandlot!" Benny yelled as he passed us, the Beast in pursuit. We followed Squints through a shortcut. We arrived just moments before Benny and the Beast. There was nowhere for him to go besides back over the fence, and he knew that. He flew over the fence and landed with a hard _thud._

The Beast didn't go over the fence this time. He went _through_ it. I guess the fence was pretty old and worn because just as the Beast got to the other side, it toppled onto him, pinning him to the ground.

Smalls rushed over to help pull the fence off of him, but it was too heavy. Benny and I locked eyes and simultaneously moved to help Smalls in his brave efforts. Finally, the Beast was free.

"What're you kids doing out here?" an old man called from the back porch. I assumed he was Mr. Mertle.

Benny explained to him how the ball had been hit over and how we needed to get it back. He nodded, and invited us inside. Only Benny, Smalls, and I went. The rest were frozen where they stood, staring at the Beast.

Benny's POV

Mr. Mertle turned out to be a retired baseball player. He explained that his dog's name was Hercules, and that he never knew Hercules had collected all the balls that had sailed over the fence. He let us have them back, enough to last us til our thirties.

Smalls explained about the ball signed by Babe Ruth. It looked pretty gross now; it was chewed on and dirty, and it smelled like a sewer. So Mr. Mertle traded that ball for a ball signed by all of the 1927 Yankees. Part of the deal was that we also had to come over every week and talk baseball, which was just fine by me.

Ruth was surprised to hear that Mr. Mertle always listened to her dad on the radio when the Mets were in town. "He was my favorite announcer," he said. "He knew more about baseball than most of the players."

That summer was one I will never forget, and so was the next…


End file.
